Korean BBQ

When we went to Korea, I liked wrapped style BBQ. This picture below is pork ribs on stone pan with lots of side dishes. We wrapped pork with some vegetables and condiments in lettuce.
We loved eating a spicy mixed paste, ssamjang, in Korea, so we bought some before we left. Now, we can eat Korean style BBQ at home. The paste is also good with cucumber sticks. I prepared a beef BBQ for lunch today. In this picture below (from left to right) is ssamjang, garlic & kimchi, lettuce, sliced onion & carrots and rice. I really liked it. I want to have it again.

Korean Girl Trends

When I was Korea, many Korean high school girls looked the same to me. They had bob hair, their bangs straight above their eyes and always wearing black framed glasses. When I passed 3 or 4 girls together, they all looked the same. My Korean friend told me the girls are following one of the famous Korean TV stars. Their looks surprised me and I thought they didn't look nice at beginning of my trip because they didn't have any originality but I actually started to like the style by the end of my trip. I guess I am easily swayed. This picture below is one I took of a girl at a cafe in Cheongju.

Korean Traditional Tea

I like Korean traditional tea. They have many different delicious flavors such as ginger, pear, dried persimmon, plum, dates, citron, quince, cinnamon, rice, etc. I had a chance to visit my favorite cafe in Insadong area again. My first time there was when I went to Seoul in 2005. These pictures below are from a card from the cafe.

I bought powdered grain tea mix and ginger tea before we left Korea. The grain tea has a rich and pleasant aroma of grains being roasted. The ginger tea has a cinnamon flavor and the ginger warms me up.

BB Cream

This is Hyoeun's present to me, BB cream. The purse is a free gift from the store. I didn't know the cream is very popular in Korea and Japan.
The cream has a tinted color. I heard the cream can be used as a makeup base or foundation. I have tried the cream every morning and it is very useful. Thank you Hyoeun!

Mochi

A broad definition of "mochi" is some steamed grains that have been pounded or starch mixed with water and then cooked. I have though about "mochi" recently because I realized many food packages such as cakes or breads advertise that they have a mochi texture. A mochi texture is a little chewy and moist. Most of my female friends like eating something that has a mochi texture.
I tried many different varieties of mochi during my Korea trip. This pictuer below is one type of mochi from Korea. It is called "Mujigae Ddeok". It tasted good when I warmed it up.

Christmas vacation in Canada

Today is first Sunday since I came back from Canada. I haven't organized the stuff I got in Canada. Instead, I am relaxing and enjoying doing nothing at home. I had a really great winter vacation in Canada with my husband's family. I was very happy to see them and to meet my little nephew for the first time. I had a chance to see many of his parents' friends at their 40th wedding anniversary party. They were all nice to me and I was surprised they went overseas lots of times and knew details of Japan. I enjoyed talking with all of them. One of my favorite things is visiting supermarkets. I know I can never be satisfied with how many times I visit them, but I could go to many stores during this visit. On a trip to Toronto this time, my husband showed me where he used to live and work, as well as his favorite shops. I got many Christmas presents including cooking tools, cooking books, a DVD and more. I wish I could have stayed there a little longer but I am glad we had an enjoyable trip to Canada.